Method and apparatus to track count of broadcast content recipients in a wireless telephone network

ABSTRACT

A base station ( 110 ) in a wireless communications network ( 100 ) counts mobile stations ( 114 ) receiving broadcast content via multi-user channel. The base station broadcasts ( 608 ) a repeating message identifying at least one broadcast content stream and, for each stream, a REGISTER (R) or DO NOT REGISTER (DNR) indicator. Mobile stations periodically re-examine ( 722 ) contents of this message. When the indicator is R for a broadcast content stream, mobile stations whose users have elected to receive it send ( 714 ) the base station a registration message for that stream. When the number of registered mobile stations reaches ( 612 ) a prescribed number, the base station changes ( 614 ) the indicator to DNR. When the indicator is DNR for a broadcast content stream, mobile stations refrain ( 712/716 ) from sending any registration message for that broadcast content stream. The base station may institute a recount ( 618 ) by resetting the indicator to R.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present invention generally relates to wireless communicationnetworks that provide broadcast content to mobile stations upon variousmulti-user (“shared”) and/or individual (“dedicated”) forward linkbroadcast channels. More particularly, the invention concerns variousembodiments of method and/or apparatus to count mobile stationsreceiving specified broadcast content from a given base station.

2. Background

Many known communication systems transmit information signals from anorigination station to a physically distinct destination station. Theinformation signal is first converted into a form suitable for efficienttransmission over the communication channel. Conversion, or modulation,of the information signal involves varying a parameter of a carrier wavein accordance with the information signal in such a way that thespectrum of the resulting modulated carrier is confined within thecommunication channel bandwidth. At the destination station the originalinformation signal is replicated from the modulated carrier wavereceived over the communication channel. Such a replication is generallyachieved by using an inverse of the modulation process employed by theorigination station.

Modulation also facilitates multiple-access, that is, simultaneoustransmission and/or reception, of several signals over a commoncommunication channel. Multiple-access communication systems ofteninclude a plurality of subscriber units requiring intermittent serviceof relatively short duration rather than continuous access to the commoncommunication channel. Several multiple-access techniques are known inthe art, such as time division multiple-access (TDMA), frequencydivision multiple-access (FDMA), amplitude modulation multiple-access(AM), and code division multiple-access (CDMA) spread spectrum.Multiple-access communication systems may be wireless or wireline andmay carry voice and/or data.

In a two-way, multiple-access wireless communication system,communications between users are conducted through one or more basestations. In one example, one user on a first wireless mobile stationcommunicates with another user on a second wireless mobile station bytransmitting data on a reverse link to a base station. The base stationreceives the data and, if necessary, routes the data to another basestation. Ultimately, the data is transmitted on a forward link of thefinal base station to the second mobile station. “Forward” link refersto transmission from a base station to a wireless mobile station and the“reverse” link refers to transmission from a wireless mobile station toa base station. In many communication systems, the forward link and thereverse link utilize separate frequencies.

Communications can also be conducted between one user on a wirelessmobile station and another user on a landline station. In this case, abase station receives the data from the mobile station on a reverselink, and routes the data through a public switched telephone network(PSTN) to the landline station. Communications also occur in theopposite direction.

The foregoing wireless communication services are examples of“point-to-point” communication service. In contrast, “broadcast”services deliver information from a central station to multiple mobilestations (“multipoint”). The basic model of a broadcast system consistsof a broadcast net of users served by one or more central stations,which transmit news, movies, sports, or other “content” to the users.Here, each mobile station monitors a common broadcast forward linksignal. Because the central station fixedly determines the content, theusers do not generally communicate back. Examples of common usage ofbroadcast services communication systems are television, radio, and thelike. Such communication systems are usually highly specialized.

With recent advancements in wireless telephone systems, there has beengrowing interest in using the existing, chiefly point-to-point wirelesstelephone infrastructure to additionally deliver broadcast services. Inthis respect, a number of important advances have been made by QUALCOMMCORPORATION of San Diego, Calif. The following references (incorporatedby reference) describe various QUALCOMM advances relating to the use ofshared communications channels to deliver broadcast content in awireless telephone network.

-   -   1. U.S. Pat. No. 6,980,820, issued on Dec. 27, 2005 and entitled        “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SIGNALLING IN BROADCAST COMMUNICATIONS        SYTEM.”    -   2. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/192,132, filed on Jul. 9,        2002 and entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MULTICAST SERVICE        INITIATION IN A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM.”    -   3. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/933,912, filed on Aug.        20, 2001 and entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR UTILIZATION OF AN        OUTER DECODER IN A BROADCAST SERVICES COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM.”    -   4. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/933,971, filed on Aug.        20, 2001 and entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OVERHEAD        MESSAGING IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM.”

The following references (also incorporated by reference) additionallydescribe various QUALCOMM advances relating to the use of dedicated (ordedicated and shared) communications channels to deliver broadcastcontent in a wireless telephone network.

-   -   1. U.S. patent application No. 10/356,053, filed Jan. 31, 2003,        now allowed, and entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS TO INITIATE        POINT-TO-POINT CALL DURING SHARED-CHANNEL DELIVERY OF BROADCAST        CONTENT IN A WIRELESS TELEPHONE NETWORK.”    -   2. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/278,516, filed Oct. 22,        2002 and entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COMMENCING SHARED OR        INDIVIDUAL TRANSMISSION OF BROADCAST CONTENT IN A WIRELESS        TELEPHONE NETWORK.”    -   3. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/278,485, filed Oct. 22,        2002 and entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SWITCHING BETWEEN        SHARED AND INDIVIDUAL CHANNELS TO PROVIDE BROADCAST CONTENT        SERVICES IN A WIRELESS TELEPHONE NETWORK.”

Although the foregoing applications are satisfactory in many respects,one aspect of wireless broadcast systems that has not been fullydeveloped is the means for counting mobile stations receiving broadcastcontent from a given cell site, base station, or other area.

SUMMARY

Broadly, this disclosure concerns wireless communication networks thatprovide broadcast content to mobile stations upon various shared and(optionally) individual broadcast channels. More particularly, thedisclosure addresses various embodiments of method and/or apparatus tocount mobile stations receiving specified broadcast content from a givenbase station.

The base station repeatedly broadcasts a message identifying at leastone broadcast content stream and, in association with each stream, aREGISTER (R) or DO NOT REGISTER (DNR) indicator. Mobile stations receiveand repeatedly examine contents of this message. When the indicator is Rfor a broadcast content stream, mobile stations whose users have electedto receive the stream send the base station a wireless registrationmessage in association with that stream. When a count of registeredmobile stations reaches a prescribed number, the base station configuresthe broadcast parameters message with a DNR indicator. When theindicator is DNR for a broadcast content stream, mobile stations refrainfrom transmitting any wireless registration message in association withthat stream. The base station may institute a recount by resetting theindicator to R.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of some hardware components andinterconnections in a wireless communications network.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary digital data processingmachine.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an exemplary signal-bearing medium.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the hardware components andinterconnections of a wireless mobile station.

FIG. 5A is a state diagram illustrating the operational states of amobile station.

FIGS. 5B–5E are block diagrams illustrating messages exchange betweenmobile station and base stations during IDLE, ACCESS, TRAFFIC, andcombination TRAFFIC/IDLE states, respectively.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating base station operations to track acount of mobile stations receiving specified broadcast content from thebase station.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating mobile station operations to receiveand selectively register for receipt of broadcast content in a wirelesscommunications network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The nature, objectives, and advantages of the invention will become moreapparent to those skilled in the art after considering the followingdetailed description in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Hardware Components & Interconnections

Wireless Communications System

According to an exemplary model of a broadcast system, a number ofmobile stations are served by one or more base stations that transmitbroadcast content such as news, movies, sports events, and the like.FIG. 1 illustrates block diagram of a communication system 100, capableof performing high-speed broadcast service under various embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

For ease of illustration, and without any intended limitation, thesubcomponents, interconnections, and overall arrangement of FIG. 1utilizes the exemplary architecture of CDMA-2000. Nevertheless, theteachings of the present disclosure are similarly applicable to WCDMA,GSN, GPRS, EDGE, and other architectures. The adaptation of the presentdisclosure to other wireless network architectures will be apparent toordinarily skilled artisans (having the benefit of this disclosure)without the necessity of illustrating components and protocolsparticular to those architectures.

Broadcast content originates at one or more content servers (CS) 102.The content server 102 comprises one or more digital data processingmachines such as a personal computer, computer workstation, mainframecomputer, computer network, microprocessor, or other computing facilityto deliver packet-formatted (or other formatted) broadcast content tobroadcast-packet-data-serving-nodes (BPDSN) 106 via Internet Protocol(IP) connection 104 or other (not shown) non-IP network or directconnection. Depending upon the manner of implementation, the nodes 106may utilize the same or different hardware as packet data switchingnodes (PDSNs) of the type that are well known in wireless telephony.According to each packet's destination, nodes 106 deliver the packet toan appropriate packet control function (PCF) module 108. Each module 108controls various functions of base stations 110 related to delivery ofhigh speed broadcast services. Among other functions, the modules 108forward broadcast packets to the base stations 110. Each module 108 mayutilize the same or different hardware as a base station controller(BSC) of the type that are well known in wireless telephony.

The base stations 110 deliver broadcast content and conventionalwireless telephone calls to mobile stations (MSs) 114. The base stations110 may be implemented using hardware such as that used by conventionalbase stations commercially used today.

Exemplary Digital Data Processing Apparatus

Data processing entities such as base stations, mobile stations,components 102, 106, 108, 110, 114, or any one or more of theirsubcomponents may be implemented in various forms. One example is adigital data processing apparatus, as exemplified by the hardwarecomponents and interconnections of the digital data processing apparatus200 of FIG. 2.

The apparatus 200 includes a processor 202, such as a microprocessor,personal computer, workstation, controller, microcontroller, statemachine, or other processing machine, coupled to a storage 204. In thepresent example, the storage 204 includes a fast-access storage 206, aswell as nonvolatile storage 208. The fast-access storage 206 maycomprise random access memory (“RAM”), may be used to store theprogramming instructions executed by the processor 202. The nonvolatilestorage 208 may comprise, for example, battery backup RAM, EEPROM, flashPROM, one or more magnetic data storage disks such as a “hard drive”, atape drive, or any other suitable storage device. The apparatus 200 alsoincludes an input/output 210, such as a line, bus, cable,electromagnetic link, interface, channel, or other means for theprocessor 202 to exchange data with other hardware external to theapparatus 200.

Despite the specific foregoing description, ordinarily skilled artisans(having the benefit of this disclosure) will recognize that theapparatus discussed above may be implemented in a machine of differentconstruction, without departing from the scope of the invention. As aspecific example, one of the components 206, 208 may be eliminated;furthermore, the storage 204, 206, and/or 208 may be provided on-boardthe processor 202, or even provided externally to the apparatus 200.

Logic Circuitry

In contrast to the digital data processing apparatus discussed above, adifferent embodiment of the invention uses logic circuitry instead ofcomputer-executed instructions to implement various processing entitiessuch as those mentioned above. Depending upon the particularrequirements of the application in the areas of speed, expense, toolingcosts, and the like, this logic may be implemented by constructing anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) having thousands of tinyintegrated transistors. Such an ASIC may be implemented with CMOS, TTL,VLSI, or another suitable construction. Other alternatives include adigital signal processing chip (DSP), discrete circuitry (such asresistors, capacitors, diodes, inductors, and transistors), fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), programmable logic array (PLA),programmable logic device (PLD), and the like.

Wireless Telephone

FIG. 4 further illustrates the construction of an exemplary mobilestation 114 by depicting a wireless telephone 400. The telephone 400includes a speaker 408, user interface 410, microphone 414, transceiver404, antenna 406, and manager 402, along with any other conventionalcircuitry that may vary depending upon the application. The manager 402,which may comprise circuitry such as that discussed in conjunction withFIG. 2 (above), serves to manage operation of the components 404, 408,410, 414, 420, as well as signal routing between these components. Theforegoing components may be implemented by subcomponents of variouscommercially available wireless telephones, for example.

Specific to the present disclosure is an added component, namely, ascheduler 420. As explained in greater detail below, the mobile utilizesthe scheduler to trigger an evaluation event, namely for the mobile toconsider whether re-registration is presently needed or not. The detailsof the evaluation event are discussed in greater detail below inconjunction with FIG. 7. The scheduler may provide its trigger on aperiodic, non-periodic, event-driven, or other appropriate schedule. Thescheduler 420 may comprise a timer, clock, counter, interrupt handler,software or firmware program or thread or subroutine, etc. Furthermore,in the case where the base station is providing multiple broadcastcontent streams, the scheduler may optionally activate at differenttimes for different streams. In addition to internally stored or derivedactivation times, the scheduler may utilize activation times that areobtained, downloaded, gathered, or otherwise derived from an externalsource such as the BSPM. In the case of activation times derived from anexternal source, information from the external source may or may notrelate to registration or evaluation events, as long as it contains somedata appropriate to usefully derive activation times.

Although the wireless telephone 400 is illustrated, mobile station 114may be mobile or stationary. Furthermore, a mobile station may compriseany data device that communicates through a wireless channel or througha wired channel, for example using fiber optic or coaxial cables. Inaddition to (or instead of) wireless and wireline phones, a mobilestation may be configured to implement various other devices includingbut not limited to PC card, compact flash, external or internal modem,etc.

Operation

Having described various structural features, some operational aspectsof the present disclosure are now described.

Signal-Bearing Media

Wherever any functionality of the present disclosure is implementedusing one or more machine-executed program sequences, such sequences maybe embodied in various forms of signal-bearing media. In the context ofFIG. 2, such a signal-bearing media may comprise, for example, thestorage 204 or another signal-bearing media, such as a magnetic datastorage diskette 300 (FIG. 3), directly or indirectly accessible by aprocessor 202. Whether contained in the storage 206, diskette 300, orelsewhere, the instructions may be stored on a variety ofmachine-readable data storage media. Some examples include direct accessstorage (e.g., a conventional “hard drive”, redundant array ofinexpensive disks (“RAID”), or another direct access storage device(“DASD”)), serial-access storage such as magnetic or optical tape,electronic non-volatile memory (e.g., ROM, EPROM, flash PROM, orEEPROM), battery backup RAM, optical storage (e.g., CD-ROM, WORM, DVD,digital optical tape), or other suitable signal-bearing media includinganalog or digital transmission media and analog and communication linksand wireless communications. In an illustrative embodiment of theinvention, the machine-readable instructions may comprise softwareobject code, compiled from a language such as assembly language, C, etc.

Logic Circuitry

In contrast to the signal-bearing medium discussed above, some or all ofthe present disclosure's functionality may be implemented using logiccircuitry, instead of using a processor to execute instructions. Suchlogic circuitry is therefore configured to perform operations to carryout the method aspect of the invention. The logic circuitry may beimplemented using many different types of circuitry, as discussed above.

Mobile Stations—Call Model

Each mobile station 114 operates according to the state diagram 560 ofFIG. 5A. In the IDLE state 562, the mobile station monitors a sharedpaging channel and a shared overhead channel, described in greaterdetail below. These channels are shared in the sense that every basestation broadcasts these channels to all mobile stations in range.Briefly, the shared paging channel advises mobile stations of incomingcalls and the shared overhead channel supplies various system relatedinformation. In the IDLE state 562, the mobile station may additionallyreceive multicast broadcast content from the base station via one ormore shared broadcast channels. In the IDLE state 562, the mobilestation's transmitter is turned off.

In one case, transition 563 from IDLE 562 to ACCESS 564 occurs when themobile station sends a REGISTRATION message, advising nearby basestations of the mobile station's presence, identity, features, etc. Inthis case, the ACCESS state 564 transitions 561 back to IDLE 562 afterthe REGISTRATION message.

In another situation, transition 563 from IDLE 562 to ACCESS 564 occursduring the establishment of a point-to-point call, either by the mobilestation or another party. As one example, if another party initiates thecall, the mobile station receives a paging message over the commonpaging channel. After the mobile station answers the page on a common“access” channel, the mobile station receives assignment of a trafficchannel on which to conduct the point-to-point call. The mobile stationinitiates an outgoing call by sending an appropriate message on theaccess channel, and then receiving channel assignment in the samemanner.

Transition 565 from ACCESS 564 to TRAFFIC 566 occurs when an incoming oroutgoing call goes through, and the mobile station and base stationbegin to communicate on the traffic channel. In the TRAFFIC state 566,the mobile station utilizes an individual traffic channel to conductpoint-to-point communications with another party. The newly initiatedpoint-to-point call may conduct voice, data, or even broadcastinformation as discussed below. If the point-to-point call carriesbroadcast content, then it substitutes for any shared broadcast that themobile station was previously receiving in the IDLE state 562.

Transition 567 from the TRAFFIC 566 back to IDLE 562 occurs when thepoint-to-point call is terminated by either party or when the connectionis otherwise broken. Transition 567 includes release of the trafficchannel used to conduct the point-to-point call. If this point-to-pointcall contained broadcast content, then the transition 567 may optionallyresult in resumption of broadcast content delivery via shared channel inthe IDLE state 562.

As discussed below, appropriately configured mobile stations (in theappropriate architecture of wireless network) may reside in the TRAFFICstate 566 with regard to one or more point-to-point calls, whileseparately and independently residing in the IDLE state 562 with regardto the receipt of one or more shared broadcast content streams viashared forward link channel.

Channels

FIGS. 5B–5E describe some of the primary communications channels used torelay information between mobile station and base station during theIDLE, ACCESS, and TRAFFIC states discussed above. The broadcast channelsof the present disclosure may be utilized to relay data, audio, video,or any other desired content.

For ease of illustration, and without any intended limitation, thefollowing discussion is made in the context of CDMA-2000. Nevertheless,these principles are similarly applicable to WCDMA, GSN, GPRS, EDGE, andother architectures. The adaptation of the present disclosure to otherwireless network architectures will be apparent to ordinarily skilledartisans (having the benefit of this disclosure) without the necessityof illustrating components and protocols particular to thosearchitectures. And, although various specific channels are given as anexample, this disclosure may utilize other channels (that are known orbecome available in the future) without diverging from the invention.

“Communication channel/link” refers to a physical channel or a logicalchannel in accordance with the context. “Physical channel” means acommunication route over which a signal propagates described in terms ofmodulation characteristics and coding. “Logical channel” means acommunication route within the protocol layers of either the basestation or the mobile station. “Reverse channel/link” means acommunication channel/link through which the mobile station sendssignals to the base station. “Forward channel/link” means acommunication channel/link through which a base station sends signals toa mobile station.

IDLE State

FIG. 5B addresses the IDLE state 562. The base station 504 transmits theoverhead channel 505 for receipt by the mobile station 502 as well asall other mobile stations being served by that base station. Theoverhead channel 505 contains periodically repeated system information,such as information about neighboring base stations, access information(e.g., recommended power levels, maximum message size, etc.), and systemparameters (such as product revision levels, supported features, etc).In a CDMA-2000 system, the overhead channel 505 may comprise the forwardbroadcast control channel (F_BCCH).

As one example, contents of the overhead channel 505 may include abroadcast system parameters message (BSPM), which specifies eachdifferent broadcast channel and/or program that is “available” overshared and/or individual channels. The BSPM's indication that a programis “available” may mean that the program is presently being broadcast,that the program is planned for broadcast at a particular time in thefuture, the program is available to mobile stations on request but notbeing broadcast presently, or another meaning depending upon the desiredimplementation of the network. A “program” is a particular show, event,time period, or other unit of broadcast content, such as CNN news, orESPN, or weather information, etc. The BSPM indicates which program ison each of the base station's shared channels (and the frequency orother channel identity), and which programs can be obtained onindividual channels if available (with specific frequencies to bedetermined at the time of establishing service on the individualchannel). The BSPM may also list certain other information, as describedin greater detail below and/or various of the QUALCOMM patent referencescited herein.

The base station 504 also transmits a shared paging channel 506 forreceipt by all mobile stations being served by that base station. Allmobile stations served by the base station 504 monitor the pagingchannel 506 so that they can be alerted upon arrival of a point-to-pointcall or other information for them. In CDMA-2000, the paging channel 506is exemplified by the forward control channel (F_CCCH).

The shared broadcast channel 508 encompasses potentially many sharedbroadcast sub-channels (parallel channels) transmitted by the basestation 504 for use by mobile stations in range of the base station.Broadly, the communication system 100 enables high-speed broadcastservice by utilizing a “forward broadcast supplemental channel” (F_BSCH)capable of high data rates and suitable for receipt by a large number ofmobile stations. The forward broadcast supplemental channel comprises,for example, a single forward link physical channel that carriesbroadcast traffic. One or more high-speed broadcast service channels aretime-division-multiplexed within the single forward broadcast sharedchannel. Thus, the channel 508 may carry a number of different broadcastcontent streams concurrently.

The shared broadcast channels 508 may be freely available to all mobilestations, or limited to mobile stations that have completed certainenrollment (subscription) steps. Since the channel 508 is universallybroadcast to all mobile stations within range, the mobile stationsultimately manage whether the user can access the broadcast or not basedon whether the user has enrolled. As one example, each shared broadcastchannel may be encrypted with a prescribed code, which is only providedto enrolled mobile stations.

A mechanism for enrollment to broadcast services is discussed in thefollowing reference, the entirety of which is incorporated herein: U.S.Pat. No. 6,909,702, issued on Jun. 21, 2005, and entitled “METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR OUT OF BAND TRANSMISSION OF BROADCAST SERVICE OPTION IN AWIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM.”

ACCESS State

FIG. 5C addresses the ACCESS state 564. The mobile station 502 continuesto receive the overhead 505, paging 506, and shared broadcast 508channels. The shared access channel 522 is used by all mobile stationsserved by the base station 504. To begin a point-to-point call, theaccess channel 522 can be used in two ways. For incoming calls, themobile station 502 uses the access channel 522 to answer a page whenanother station is initiating a point-to-point call to the mobilestation 502. For outgoing calls, the mobile station 502 uses the accesschannel 522 to request initiation of a point-to-point call. In theCDMA-2000 protocol, the access channel 522 is exemplified by the reverseaccess channel (R_ACH). During the ACCESS state 564, the mobile station502 may continue to monitor the shared broadcast 508.

Apart from point-to-point call initiation, the mobile station 502 mayuse the access channel 522 to occasionally transmit a REGISTRATIONmessage. This serves to advise the wireless network of the mobilestation 502's location, along with any other relevant information. Inthe event of REGISTRATION or other similar messages occurring in theACCESS state 564, the mobile station 502 returns to IDLE 562 withoutentering the TRAFFIC state 566.

TRAFFIC State

FIG. 5D addresses the TRAFFIC state 566. In this state, the trafficchannels 552, 554 cooperatively conduct two-way point-to-point datacalls between the mobile station 502 and base station 504. The channels552, 554 are dedicated channels for individual use of the mobile station502. The forward traffic channel 552, a “logical” channel, includesparallel physical channels such as the traffic-content channel 552 a andthe traffic-signaling channel 552 b. The traffic-content channel 552 acarries content, such as the voice information or data conveyed from thebase 504 to the mobile station 502. The traffic-signaling channel 552 bcarries signaling information such as housekeeping, metadata, systeminformation, and other information that describes the channel 552 aand/or its content. In an alternative embodiment, the channels 552 a,552 b may be unrelated, rather than being parallel channels asdescribed. The reverse traffic channel 554 also includes paralleltraffic-content and signaling channels 554 a, 554 b, conductingcommunications in the opposite direction of the channel 552.

In the TRAFFIC state, the mobile station does not use the access 522,overhead 505, or paging channels 506, since this information is conveyedon the dedicated signaling channels 552 b, 554 b instead.

During TRAFFIC 566, the mobile station 502 may continue to receivebroadcast content. However, with some known hardware, delivery ofbroadcast content concurrently with a point-to-point call 552/554 isnecessarily conducted on an individual, point-to-point channel 556rather than the shared channel 508. This is chiefly because thesignaling and control procedures that are required for proper operationof mobile station are vastly different in IDLE versus TRAFFIC channels,and hardware limited mobile stations can only be in one of these twostates at any given time. Therefore, while traffic channels 552, 554 arein use, the exchange of any broadcast content during this timenecessarily occurs on a traffic channel 556, with content occurring on556 a and signaling on 556 b.

Generally, any forward link channel suitable for point-to-point callsmay be used for the individual broadcast channel 556. Several morespecific options are presented as follows. One option, using CDMA-2000as an example, is the forward fundamental channel (F_FCH) or forwarddedicated control channel (F_DCCH), which provide 14.4 Kb/s. Anotheroption is the forward supplemental channel (F_SCH), which provides up to1 Mb/s. A still faster option is the forward packet data channel(F_PDCH), which provides still faster service up to 2.4 Mb/s.

Unlike the IDLE 562 and ACCESS 564 states, where the mobile station 502only communicates with a single base station, the mobile station 502 inTRAFFIC may concurrently exchange traffic and broadcast content andsignaling information with multiple base stations in order to effect asoft handoff (in the case of a CDMA air interface) to obtain signalredundancy, or to achieve other goals. Therefore, ordinarily skilledartisans (having the benefit of this disclosure) will recognize that thepresent disclosure's references to “base station” (in the singular) aremade for brevity and ease of discussion. Mobile stations in TRAFFICutilizing a CDMA air interface may communicate with multiple basestations concurrently.

In addition, techniques are known for the mobile station 502 to conductmultiple two-way telephone conversations simultaneously on trafficchannels 552, 554. These techniques involve, for example, timemultiplexing different data streams so that a given channel can carrymore than one. Utilizing similar technology, the present disclosurecontemplates the mobile station 502 receiving multiple, concurrentbroadcast programs on the individual channel 556.

TRAFFIC & SIMULTANEOUS SHARED BROADCAST State

FIG. 5E addresses an additional state which includes TRAFFIC (such asFIG. 5D) along concurrent delivery of a shared broadcast to the mobilestation 502 (as in FIG. 5A). This communications state is utilized undercertain known designs of wireless network architectures, and only incases where the mobile station 502 includes appropriate circuitry toconduct a two-way point-to-point call on the channels 552/554 whilereceiving the shared broadcast on a different channel 590. The mobilestation 502 must also be able to participate concurrently in TRAFFICstate signaling and control procedures (with respect to the channels552/554) and while conducting IDLE state signaling and controlprocedures (with respect to the channel 590).

As mentioned above, known techniques may also be utilized for the mobilestation 502 to conduct multiple two-way telephone conversationssimultaneously on traffic channels 552, 554. These techniques involve,for example, time multiplexing different data streams so that a givenchannel can carry more than one. Utilizing similar technology, thepresent disclosure contemplates the mobile station 502 concurrentlyreceiving one or more broadcast programs on individual channels 552,conducting one or more point-to-point calls on the individual channels552/554, and concurrently receiving one or more broadcast programs onthe shared channel 590.

Further Information

The physical and logical channels used in high speed broadcast servicesare discussed in greater detail in the following references, theentireties of which are incorporated herein by reference: (1) CDMA 2000Physical Layer Standard, known as IS_(—)2000.2, (2) U.S. Pat. No.6,980,820, issued on Dec. 27, 2005, and entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUSFOR SIGNALING IN BROADCAST COMMUNICATION SYSTEM.” The use of common anddedicated channels for information broadcast is disclosed in thefollowing reference, the entirety of which is incorporated herein byreference: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/279,970, filed Mar. 28,2001 and entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GROUP CALLS USING DEDICATEDAND COMMON CHANNELS IN WIRELESS NETWORKS.”

BSPM

As mentioned above, each broadcast-capable base station repeatedlybroadcasts a representative BSPM over the overhead channel 505 to advisemobile stations of that base station's available broadcast content andrelated information.

One component of the BSPM is the “registration indicator,” which has avalue of REGISTER (R) or DO NOT REGISTER (DNR). The registrationindicator may be implemented as a flag, bit, code, message header, orother signal or metadata. In one embodiment, a base station's BSPMincludes a single registration indicator, which is applies to allbroadcast content of that base station. In another embodiment, the basestation's registration indicator only applies to a select items ofbroadcast content, with the remainder being conducted without regard toregistration. Under a still different approach, which is illustrated inthe remaining discussion below, a base station's BSPM includes adifferent registration indicator for each different broadcast contentstream (e.g., broadcast channel, broadcast program, etc.) of that basestation. The broadcast content stream corresponding to a registrationindicator may be identified by a number, alphanumeric text, or othercode. If the registration indicator for a specified broadcast contentstream is set to R, this instructs mobile stations to register if theyare receiving or commencing receipt of the specified broadcast contentstream. Similarly, if the registration indicator for a specifiedbroadcast content stream is set to DNR, this instructs subscriberstations to refrain from registering. The registration indicator and itsuse are discussed in greater detail below.

Also in association with each broadcast content stream, the BSPM mayoptionally provide a “registration wait factor.” The registration waitfactor guides mobile stations in determining how much of a delay toinstitute before registering, in order to avoid system overload by allmobiles trying to register simultaneously. The content and use of thewait factor is described in greater detail below.

In addition to the registration indicator, the BSPM may include furtherinformation such as (1) information identifying and/or explaining thechannel content, i.e., subject broadcast program, (2) whether thesubject program is “available” via individual channel (whether the basestation is programmed, configured, or otherwise equipped with theability to provide the subject program on individual channels, orwhether the subject program is being broadcast presently), (3) whetherthe subject program is “available” via shared channel from the basestation, (4) characteristics of the shared channel used to broadcast thesubject program, which may depend upon the air interface that isimplemented, with some examples being Walsh code, modulation type,Viterbi coding, data rate, error correction, and the like, (5) identityof the shared channel (if applicable) used to broadcast the subjectprogram, namely, the logical frequency and/or physical bandwidth used bythe subject base station.

The BSPM may be expanded to include a variety of other information, andlikewise abbreviated to leave out certain information listed above. Forexample, the base station may omit certain information and insteadprovide the information upon demand, to shorten the BSPM and savebandwidth on the overhead channel 505.

Network Operations

FIG. 6 depicts overall operations 600 performed by the wirelesscommunications network to count wireless mobile stations receivingbroadcast content via multi-user forward link broadcast channel of abase station. For ease of description, without any intended limitation,the sequence 600 is described in conjunction the components of FIGS.1–5E as discussed above.

In step 602, the network 100 performs various setup functions, such asestablishing subscriptions of various mobile stations to variousbroadcast content. A subscription may be held by a mobile station, user,or other entity, and pertains to one or more broadcast channels,broadcast programs, or other specific broadcast unit(s). In one example,subscriptions arrangements are completed “online” by the networkinteracting with the mobile stations themselves (via SMS, telephonevoice menu, human user, or other means). In another example,subscription arrangements are completed “offline” (with respect to thewireless network 100) via web site, telephone operator, mail, or anothernon-network interface, in which case the results, status, and othersubscription information are appropriately forwarded to the network.

The remaining steps 604–658 are independently performed by one or morebase stations 110 in the network 100. As one example, all base stations110 in the network 100 may independently perform the steps 604–658. As adifferent example, only those base stations appropriately programmed,upgraded, or otherwise deployed may perform the steps 604–658, with theremaining base stations not participating. For ease of reference, theremaining discussion of steps 604–658 is made in the context of actionsby one representative or “subject” base station.

In step 604, the subject base station learns that a specified broadcastcontent stream is or will soon be available from the content server 102.Step 604 may occur by notification from the content server 102 (“push”),base station inquiry of the content server (“pull”), or another means.The subject broadcast content “stream” may comprise a broadcast program(like an individual television or radio show), a broadcast channel (suchas CNN, ESPN, and the like), or other broadcast unit. For ease ofexplanation, without any intended limitation, the following discussionexemplifies the broadcast content stream as a single broadcast program.Furthermore, without any intended limitation, the following discussiondescribes the case where the subject base station receives or obtainsnotice in step 604 that the specified broadcast content stream from thecontent server 102 will commence in the future at a prescribed time. Thesubject broadcast program may be “available” from the content server 102in that it is planned for future broadcast at a particular time,presently being received from the content server 102, or anotherdefinition depending upon the desired implementation in the network 100.

After step 604, steps 650–658 start and thereafter manage transmissionof the subject broadcast content stream. Steps 606–618 oversee theregistration process and counting of registered mobile stations.

Referring to steps 606–618 more specifically, in step 606 the subjectbase station selects a threshold for future use in counting mobilestations receiving the subject broadcast program. Basically, when thenumber of mobile stations exceeds the threshold, the base station stopscounting. The threshold is chosen based on the purpose for which it isused, that is, the reason for counting mobile stations registrations. Inthe illustrated example, without any intended limitation, the count ofmobile stations is used to determine whether to provide the subjectbroadcast program on a shared or dedicated channel. A shared channel isonly used when the number of mobiles exceeds the threshold, therebyconserving broadcast power. Dedicated channels are used when the numberof mobiles is at the threshold number or less, thereby conservingbroadcast power (among other factors) due to the availability of powercontrolled individual channels. In the illustrated example, then, thethreshold is selected according to the details of the radio interface,and particular, the relative efficiencies (as implemented) of sharedversus dedicated channels.

Having chosen the threshold in step 606, step 608 is then performed. Instep 608, the subject base station begins repeatedly transmitting theBSPM with registration indicator set to R in association with thesubject broadcast program. If the BSPM is already being broadcast,presumably due to the preexisting availability of other broadcastprograms, the base station in step 608 amends the BSPM to include theregistration indicator R in association with the subject broadcastprogram. In either case, the BSPM may identifies the broadcast programas specifically as necessary.

Optionally, the BSPM may also include a “registration wait factor” asmentioned above. Broadly, the registration wait factor guides mobilestations in determining how much of a delay to institute beforeregistering, in order to avoid system overload by all mobiles trying toregister simultaneously. In one example, the wait factor may prescribe agiven maximum wait, where each mobile station conditions the maximumbased upon a predetermined algorithm to arrive at a wait between zeroand the maximum; in another example, the wait factor prescribes anaverage wait of an experimental, Gaussian, geometric, normal, or otherknown distribution. This spreads the mobile stations' registration timesto avoid base station overload. In another example, the wait factor maybe omitted or set to zero to institute no wait. The content and use ofthe wait factor is described in greater detail below in conjunction withFIG. 7.

In step 610, the base station receives one or more registrations, thatis, a prescribed format of wireless registration message sent by mobilestations. As explained in greater detail below, the registering mobilestations are those that are receiving or commencing receipt of thesubject broadcast program from the base station. Also in step 610, thebase station counts the registrations. In a simplified embodiment, thebase station counts all registration messages received from the mobilestations.

In a more sophisticated embodiment, the base station only counts validregistration messages received from the mobiles. As explained in greaterdetail below (FIG. 7), the mobile in this embodiment utilizes aprescribed format of registration message including some of all of thesecomponents: (1) a code, format, layout, header, or other informationsignifying that this is a registration message, as opposed to anothertype, (2) a code to distinctively identify the mobile station, so thatthe base station can verify that the mobile station has truly subscribedto the broadcast content (e.g., a known code such as an ESN, IMSI, TMSI,P-TMSI, etc.), (3) a code identifying the desired broadcast contentstream for which registration is sought. Optionally, the registrationmessage may further include security parameters, such as one or more ofthe following: (1) a digital signature or other subscriberidentification code for the base station to validate the identity of themobile station and/or subscriber, (2) a message authentication code toprove to the base station that the registration message has not beenmodified after transmission (for example, a code computed based on themessage content and an integrity key), (3) a crypto sync such as amonotonically increasing counter that is reset when the mobile stationperforms a new authentication, used to protect against repetitionattacks where an eavesdropper intercepts a valid message and transmitsit over and over to disrupt the system.

Therefore, in this example, step 610 involves the base stationdetermining whether each received registrations are valid and, only ifvalid, counting it. To be valid, the registration message must includeappropriate content purporting to be a registration message, identify arecognized mobile station, and properly identify the desired broadcastcontent stream. Furthermore, if security provisions are implemented, thebase station conditions registration validity upon one or more of thefollowing: (1) valid digital signature or subscriber identificationcode, (2) the base station's recomputing of the message authenticationcode based on the message contents and to determine whether the mobile'ssubmitted message authentication code is proper, (3) verification thatthe message has a distinct crypto sync with respect to any otherregistration messages from the same mobile station.

Therefore, in step 610 the base station counts valid registrations. Inthe present example, the base station's actions in step 610 serve tocollect registrations for an upcoming broadcast content stream that isexpected to arrive from the content server at some future time. Thus,the base station by performing step 610 gauges the popularity of theupcoming program. Separate acts of the base station start transmissionof the broadcast content stream from the content server at the appointedtime and thereafter manage broadcast transmission (as explained below inconjunction with steps 650–658).

In step 612, the base station asks whether the number of registeredmobile stations (for the subject broadcast program) exceeds thethreshold that was established in step 606. In addition to counting theregistered mobile stations (receiving the broadcast content stream onshared channel), the count of step 612 may additionally include anyunregistered mobile stations receiving the broadcast stream onindividual channels. For these mobiles, registration is not necessarysince the base station already knows that they are receiving the subjectbroadcast content stream due to the call setup on individual channels.

If the count does not exceed the threshold, step 612 returns to step 610to log more registrations. When the number of registered mobile stationsreaches the threshold, step 612 advances to step 614. In step 614, thebase station reconfigures the BSPM's registration indicator as “DNR” forthe subject broadcast program. Utilizing DNR at this point cansignificantly reduce access channel traffic and other network load,since new participants in the broadcast will not engage the base stationin the registration process. This also eases the process of joining forlate participants, since they need not register.

In step 616, the base station asks whether circumstances justify arecount of mobile stations presently receiving the subject broadcast.The base station may be programmed to recognize any desired conditionsfor recount. In one example, a recount may be performed periodically;furthermore, the recount interval may vary depending upon the bandwidthof the subject broadcast, available system resources, and other suchfactors. For example, a recount may be performed every one or twominutes for high data rate programming, and every ten or thirty minutesfor low bandwidth content. In another example, recount may be performedwhenever there is a prescribed change in broadcast content, for example,a change in the data rate, quality of service, bit error rate, or othercharacteristic.

If step 616 finds that a recount is warranted, step 616 advances to step617, where the base station returns the registration indicator to R, inorder to resume collecting registrations for the subject broadcastprogram. At this point, the count of registered mobiles is reset tozero. Step 617 then advances to step 610 to collect registrations.Otherwise, if no recount is warranted, step 616 goes to step 618. Instep 618 the subject base station checks to see whether the subjectbroadcast program has ended. Examples of this include the naturalcompletion of a given broadcast program, loss of the broadcast streamfrom the content server 102, end of radio transmission, arrival of thebroadcast content stream's scheduled end time, etc. If the broadcastprogram has ended, the routine 600 ends in step 620. Otherwise, if thebroadcast content stream continues, step 618 returns to step 616, whichrepeats as discussed above.

As mentioned above, the base station may provide one or multiplebroadcast channels. Accordingly, the BSPM may list one or multipleshared broadcast content streams and one registration indicatorassociated with each different stream. For ease of illustration, thesequence 600 has been discussed in the context of one subject broadcastcontent stream. The base station, however, repeats the steps 604–620 foreach different broadcast content stream, thereby separately tracking thecount of registered mobile stations for each stream.

Steps 606–618, then, oversee the registration process and counting ofregistered mobile stations. In contrast, steps 650–658 start andthereafter manage transmission of the subject broadcast content stream.Referring to steps 650–658 more specifically, step 650 asks whether theappointed time has arrived for start of the subject broadcast contentstream. When this time comes, step 650 proceeds to step 652, where thebase station checks the count of mobile stations registered to receivethe subject program. As illustrated, this is conveniently achieved bychecking whether the registration indicator is set to R or DNR sincethis depends directly on whether the threshold has been met or not. Ifthe indicator is set to R, the number of registered mobiles is small, sothe base station begins broadcasting the subject broadcast contentstream to the mobiles on individual channels (step 656). If theindicator is set to DNR, the number of registered mobiles is large, sothe base station begins broadcasting the subject broadcast contentstream on a single forward link shared channel (step 654).

After step 654 or 656, the base station checks whether the contentstream has ended, and if so, the sequence ends in step 620. Otherwise,if the content stream is still continuing, step 658 returns to step 652to recheck the number of registered mobile stations. In this way, thebase station preserves efficiency by utilizing the most appropriatechannel type. Although not shown, the sequence 600 may be modified (aswill be apparent to ordinarily skilled artisans having the benefit ofthis disclosure) to utilize hysteresis or other means to preventthrashing between states 654, 656 when the number of registered mobilestations fluctuates above and below the threshold.

Delivery of broadcast program on individual and shared channels isdiscussed in greater detail in various U.S. patent applications assignedto QUALCOMM CORPORATION, including one or more of the QUALCOMM patentapplications specifically identified above.

Mobile Station Operations

FIG. 7 depicts operations 700 performed by a mobile station to engage inreceipt of broadcast content from a base station, including steps tocooperate with the base station's scheme for tracking/counting mobilestation receipt of a given broadcast content. For ease of description,without any intended limitation, the sequence 700 is described inconjunction the components of FIGS. 1–5E as discussed above, in thecontext of a subject mobile station.

In step 702, the subject mobile station subscribes to one or morebroadcast content streams, such as broadcast channels and/or programs.The subscription mechanism is detailed above, and may be performedoffline by the user without involving the mobile station, oralternatively online. As with the sequence 600 above, the subjectbroadcast content stream may comprise a broadcast program (like anindividual television or radio show), a broadcast channel (such as CNN,ESPN, and the like), or other broadcast unit. For ease of explanation,without any intended limitation, the following discussion of sequence700 exemplifies the broadcast content stream as a single broadcastprogram (“subject” broadcast program).

In step 704, the mobile station checks whether content of thesubscribed-to broadcast programs is available from the mobile's“serving” or other primary base station, for instance, by reading theserving base station's BSPM. This step may be performed automatically bythe mobile station, or upon user demand. If performed automatically, themobile repeats this step on a periodic, non-periodic, or otheradvantageous schedule. Also in step 704, the mobile station reads theBSPM to determine the applicable registration wait factor for eachsubscribed-to broadcast program, as discussed in greater detail below.

In step 706, the mobile station presents content options to the user.Namely, the mobile station presents audio and/or video information tothe mobile station user, this information listing the availablebroadcast programs. This may be performed on a “push” or “pull” basis.Examples of “push” technology involve the mobile station proactivelyalerting the user to content availability by activating the mobilestation as a pager, ringing the mobile station, showing a visual icon,or other alert and then visually or auditorily presenting the contentoptions to the user. An example of “pull” technology is where the mobilestation waits for the user to request content availability information,and then presents such information to the user on demand.

In step 708, the mobile station receives a decision as to a desiredbroadcast program. For instance, the user may select the desired programby making a keypad entry, voice command, etc. Responsive to the decisionof step 708, the mobile station in step 710 applies a predeterminedalgorithm to the registration wait factor to compute a conditioned waitfactor, which is an actual time delay. Then the mobile station waits(step 710) for this period before checking whether registration isnecessary and registering if appropriate.

As mentioned above, the registration wait factor guides mobile stationsin determining how much of a delay to institute before registering, inorder to avoid system overload by all mobiles trying to registersimultaneously. In one example, the wait factor comprises the maximumwait period, and each mobile conditions the wait factor by a specifiedreduction algorithm to arrive at an actual time delay. One example iswhere the mobile station generates a random number between zero and one,and multiples the wait factor by this number to arrive at the actualtime delay. Another example is where the mobile station readsrestriction information from the BSPM or other broadcast information anduses this to determine whether it is allowed to register or not, basedon the access class, ESN, or other assigned code of the subscriber. Inother words, the mobile pauses until the BSPM indicates thatregistration is permitted for the subject mobile or a class thatincludes this mobile.

In another example, the wait factor may be internally derived from aclock, counter, timer, lookup table, computational algorithm, ESN,mobile ID, or other data available to the mobile station withoutexternal input. In another example, the wait factor may be derived fromexternal information unrelated to registration and, perhaps, unintendedfor use in developing a wait factor, yet useful to institute variablewait factors for different mobile stations. Some examples include thecalendar date, base station ID, universal time, or any other usefulcode, message, number, pattern, or construct.

At any rate, the foregoing examples ensure that some mobile stationswill wait for longer periods and others will wait for shorter periods,thereby avoiding registration overload. For ease of explanation, furtherdiscussion is limited to the wait factor obtained from the base stationvia the BSPM.

Since the conditioned wait factor is used by mobiles as apre-registration delay, the wait factor therefore enables the basestation to spread mobile station registrations out over a selectedperiod of time. For broadcast content with expected high popularity, andfor base stations that cover a large number of potential users, the basestation may specify a longer wait factor (such as sixty seconds), whichwill spread mobile registrations over a period from zero (when thebroadcast content first becomes available) to the length of the fullwait factor. For less popular broadcast content, the base station mayspecify a shorter wait factor, or even zero.

After waiting in step 710, the mobile station again checks (712) theBSPM to determine whether the registration indicator for the desiredbroadcast content stream is set to R or DNR, to avoid an unnecessaryregistration. If R, the mobile station registers in step 714 by sendinga prescribed format of wireless registration message. For itsregistration, the mobile station utilizes a channel pre-assigned forthis purpose, such as the reverse access channel (R-ACCH) underCDMA-2000 architecture.

Although different configurations may be used, an exemplary registrationmessage contains a number of parts. First, the message contains a code,format, layout, header, or other information signifying that this is aregistration message, as opposed to another type. Second, the messagecontains a code to distinctively identify the mobile station, so thatthe base station can verify that this particular mobile station has infact subscribed to the broadcast content. This code, for example, maycomprise a known code such as an ESN, IMSI, TMSI, P-TMSI, etc. Third,the registration message contains a code identifying the desiredbroadcast program for which registration is sought. Optionally, theregistration message may further include security parameters, such asone or more of the following: (1) a digital signature or othersubscriber identification code for the base station to validate theidentity of the mobile station and/or subscriber, (2) a messageauthentication code to prove to the base station that the registrationmessage has not been modified after transmission (for example, a codecomputed based on the message content and an integrity key), (3) acrypto sync such as a monotonically increasing counter that is resetwhen the mobile station performs a new authentication, used to protectagainst repetition attacks where an eavesdropper intercepts a validmessage and transmits it over and over to disrupt the system.

If the BSPM shows DNR for the desired broadcast content stream, themobile skips step 714. After step 712 (DNR) or step 714 (R), the mobilestation adjusts its transceiver and/or other applicable circuitry tobegin receiving the broadcast content stream.

In step 718, while continuing to receive the subject broadcast programthe mobile station checks whether the scheduler 420 has triggered anevaluation event (to examine whether re-registration analysis must beconducted). If the scheduler 420 is implemented as a timer, for example,the timer's expiration signals that it is time to performre-registration analysis and re-register if appropriate. Optionally,when implemented as a countdown timer, the scheduler may utilize avariable countdown time. For instance, the registration wait factorobtained in step 704 may also be used to provide a variablere-registration countdown or derive such a variable number.Alternatively, the scheduler 420 may institute a hardware interrupt whenre-registration should be evaluated.

If the re-registration is not required, the mobile station continuesreceiving the desired broadcast content stream, and checks to seewhether the mobile has changed base stations (step 724). If the mobilestation has changed base stations, re-registration may be needed, asdiscussed in greater detail below.

If the scheduler 520 has experienced an evaluation event (step 718), themobile station performs its re-registration analysis while continuing toreceive the subject broadcast program. Namely, the mobile checks thebase station's current BSPM to see whether the registration indicatorfor the desired broadcast content stream is set to R or DNR (step 722).If R, the mobile station re-registers in step 723 by sending theprescribed format of wireless registration message to the base station.If the BSPM shows DNR for the desired broadcast program, the mobileskips step 723. After step 722 (DNR) or step 723 (R), the mobile stationchecks to see whether the mobile has changed base stations (step 724).This may be performed, for example, by determining whether the identityof the mobile's serving base station has changed.

If the mobile has changed base stations, step 724 advances to step 726.In step 726, the mobile monitors the new base station's BSPM to checkfor availability of the desired broadcast program at the new basestation and the program's associated registration wait factor. If thesame broadcast program is available from the new base station, step 726returns to step 710 which commences the registration process at the newbase station. If the desired broadcast program is not available, step726 returns to step 704 to fully assess content availability at the newbase station and thereafter (706) present the updated options to theuser.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

Those of skill in the art understand that information and signals may berepresented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Those of skill further appreciate that the various illustrative logicalblocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connectionwith the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronichardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearlyillustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, variousillustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have beendescribed above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether suchfunctionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality invarying ways for each particular application, but such implementationdecisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from thescope of the present invention.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implementedor performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signalprocessor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), afield programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device,discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with theembodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in asoftware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory,EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, aCD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Anexemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processorcan read information from, and write information to, the storage medium.In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor.The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC.

Moreover, the previous description of the disclosed embodiments isprovided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use thepresent invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principlesdefined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present inventionis not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is tobe accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novelfeatures disclosed herein. The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean“serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodimentdescribed herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

1. A wireless mobile station for use in a wireless communicationsnetwork, comprising: a transceiver; a speaker; a microphone; a userinterface; a manager, coupled to the transceiver, speaker, microphone,and user interface, and programmed to perform operations for thewireless mobile station to participate in a scheme of counting mobilestations receiving broadcast content from a base station in a wirelesscommunications network, the operations comprising: receiving wirelesstransmission of a repeating broadcast parameters message from a basestation, the message including an identity of at least one broadcastcontent stream and, in association with each broadcast content stream,an indicator having one of the following values: REGISTER, DO NOTREGISTER; repeatedly examining contents of the broadcast parametersmessage according to a predetermined schedule; responsive to conditionsincluding the examination revealing that the indicator is set toREGISTER in association with a given broadcast content stream for whicha user of the mobile station has elected to receive, commencing aregistration process including transmitting to the base station aprescribed format of wireless registration message in association withthe given broadcast content stream; responsive to conditions includingthe examination revealing that the indicator is set to DO NOT REGISTERin association with a given broadcast content stream, refraining fromtransmitting any wireless registration messages to the base station inassociation with the given broadcast content stream.
 2. A wirelessmobile station, comprising: transceiver means for wirelesslytransmitting and receiving signals; speaker means for producing audiooutput from electrical input; microphone means for producing electricaloutput from audio input; user interface means for converting human inputto machine-readable input and converting machine-readable output tohuman-readable output; manager means, coupled to the transceiver means,speaker means, microphone means, and user interface means, forperforming operations for the wireless mobile station to participate ina scheme of counting mobile stations receiving broadcast content from abase station in a wireless communications network, the operationscomprising: receiving wireless transmission of a repeating broadcastparameters message from a base station, the message including anidentity of at least one broadcast content stream and, in associationwith each broadcast content stream, an indicator having one of thefollowing values: REGISTER, DO NOT REGISTER; repeatedly examiningcontents of the broadcast parameters message according to apredetermined schedule; responsive to conditions including theexamination revealing that the indicator is set to REGISTER inassociation with a given broadcast content stream for which a user ofthe mobile station has elected to receive, commencing a registrationprocess including transmitting to the base station a prescribed formatof wireless registration message in association with the given broadcastcontent stream; responsive to conditions including the examinationrevealing that the indicator is set to DO NOT REGISTER in associationwith a given broadcast content stream, refraining from transmitting anywireless registration messages to the base station in association withthe given broadcast content stream.